Hinge catch



Feb. 17, 1959 SWANSON Q 2,873,471

HINGE CATCH Filed April so, 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR GLJNNAR E-SWANSON BY AT TORNEYS United States Patent HINGE CATCH Gunnar E.Swanson, Middletown, Conn.

Application April 30, 1956, Serial No. 581,573

Claims. ((31. 16-147) This invention relates to a latch structure and,more particularly, to an improved hinge catch.

It is an object of the invention to provide a sturdy but simple andeconomical latch structure comprising a catch which may be secured to anenclosure such as a case or the like to receive a strike attached to acover or section of the enclosure, the catch being adapted to not onlyretain the cover in closed position, but also to provide a hinge aboutwhich the strike and cover can be pivoted when desired. It will be seenthat the invention provides improvements applicable to enclosure latchesgenerally and particularly advantageous in the construction of hingecatches which are ordinarily provided in pairs, one for each of twooppositely located sides of an opening in an enclosure, and which engageindependent strikes to secure a cover in closed position over theopening and either of which will hingedly support the cover on itsassociated strike when the opposite catch and strike are disengaged.

The more specific objects as well as advantages of the invention willbecome apparent to those skilled in the art from the detaileddescription having reference to the as a hinge catch for an enclosurecomprising two relatively movable sections. A typical use for a hingecatch of this type is in securing two sections of a street lampenclosure as illustrated in Fig. 1. Such an enclosure may includerelatively movable upper and lower sections, the upper sectioncomprising a metal housing 10 which supports and may provide a reflectorfor the lamp, and the lower section comprising a glass dome 12 whichdepends from the housing 10 and covers the lamp opening 14 therein. Thestructure can also include a ring 16 secured to the housing 10 adjacentthe opening 14 and which is generally L-shaped in cross section toprovide an inturned flange 18 to engage a rubber or rubber-like sealingring 20 which is secured to a radially outwardly extending flange 22 onthe upper end of the glass dome or cover 12. An annular metalframemember 24 can also be connected with the dome or cover 12 below itsflange 22 to secure a pair of radially outwardly extending strikes 26,26 which are preferably located oppositely of each other. As shown inthe drawings, the strikes 26, 26 are connected to the ring 24 as byrivets 28, 28, but other conventional fastening means may be employed.

The catches indicatedgenerally at 30, 30 and which are provided inaccordance with the present invention are secured externally of the lamphousing 10 for engagement with the respective strikes 26, 26 as will bedescribed. One catch 39 is the duplicate of the other and, therefore, itis necessary that only one be described in detail. In describing thecatch, reference will be had to that catch 30 shown on the right in Fig.1 and the manner in which said catch is operated to engage and releaseits associated strike 26 will be described. When both catches engagetheir respective strikes, the dome or cover 12 will be supported asshown in Fig. 1, but when the right-hand catch 30 is operated to releaseits strike 26, the dome 12 will swing downwardly on the left-hand catch30 to the p0siattached drawings. The said drawings show but twoembodiments of the inventiomand it will be understood that the drawingsand the description of the embodiments therein shown are not to be takenas limiting or defining the scope of the invention, the claims forming apart of this specification being relied upon for that purpose.

Of the drawings,

Fig. 1 is a vertical sectional view of a lamp enclosure having a coveror section which is supported by a pair of hinge catches incorporatingthe features of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged front view of one of the hinge catches shown inFig. 1, showing the same in engagement with and securing a strike;

Fig. 3 is a side elevational view of the catch, showing 1 the same as itis conditioned to release the strike which is shown disengaged from thecatch; 1 j

Fig. 4 is a View similar to Fig. 2, but showing the catch as it.isconditioned to release the strike;

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the lower end portion of the catch andshowing a fragment of the strike disengaged from or in explodedrelationship to the catch;

Fig. 6 is a side view of a catch and strike of alternative construction,showing the said catch and strike as associated with a lamp enclosuregenerally similar to that shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 7 is a front view. of the catch shown in Fig. 6 and shows afragment of the strike engaged and retained thereby; 1

Fig. 8 is a view similar to Fig. 6, but showing the catch conditioned todisengage the strike; and

Fig. 9 is a vertical sectional viewtaken as indicated by the line 9-9 ofFig. 7.

A latch structure incorporating the features of this in ventionmay beused to advantage in manyiinstallations,

but it is believed that its most advantageous use will be,

tion shown by the broken lines in Fig. 1.

The catch -30 comprises three main elements, namely, a latch base orframe 32, an operating lever 34 and a wire spring 36, the lever andspring comprising the links of a toggle latch. The base or frame 32 hasa back wall 38 which engages the exterior surface of the lamp housing 10and which can be conveniently secured thereto as by a pair of rivets 40,40 or other fastening means extending through suitable aperturesprovided in said back wall and in the wall of the said housing. Theframe 32 also has a pair of forwardly and downwardly extending sidewalls 42, 42. It will be observed that each of the side walls 42, 42 hasa forwardly extending parti-circular section and that an opening isprovided approximately in the center of said parti-circular section sothat a transversely extending horizontal pivot pin 46 is supported bysaid forwardly extending side walls 42, 42. The pivot pin 46 providesthe means for pivotally supporting the lever 34 for movement around saidparti-circular sections 44, 44 of the side walls in a-rnanner which willbe .more fully described hereinafter.

The lower or depending ends 48, 48 on. the side Walls 42, 42 are flaredor bent laterally outwardly, the flared end portions providing a guidefor the engaging end of the strike 26 as will be described. Each of theflared bottom end portions 48, 48 of the frame side walls are notched asindicated at 50, 50 to receive the bottom transversely extendinghorizontal portionof the spring 36. Adjacent and above the notch 50 ineach side wall 42, a portion 52 of the side wall is struck inwardly. Theinwardly struck portion or car 52 is bent to extend substantiallyparallel to the side wall and is struck with an arcuate lower edge 54.The inwardly struck portions or ears 52, 52 of the side walls 42, 42cooperate to provide a downwardly facing seat for the catch-engaging endof the associated strike 26. More specifiically, the arcuate lower edges54, 54 of 3 the-ears52, 52 provide a cradlereceiving the strike whichwill now be described.

It will be readily understood that that portion of the strike 26 whichis secured to the cover or dome 12 at the ring 24 may take varionsformsparticularly suited to the :configuration of the dome or other enclosuresection to which it is attached. zItis important, however, that theoutwardly extending portion 56 of the strike be formed to cooperate withthe catch 30. More specifically, the said outwardly extending portion 56is just wide enough to engage the cars 52, S2 and to be guided intosuchengagement by the flared ends 48, 48 of the frame side walls 42, 42.The end 58 of the outwardly extending portion of the strike 26 is formedas a hook which is arched similarly to the arc of the lower edge 54 oneach of the frame cars 52, 52. In other words, the hook portion isupwardly convex and downwardly concave. Thus, when the cover or dome 12is swung into the position-shown in Fig. l, the hooked end 58 of thestrike 26 will be cradled by the ears .52, 52 of the frame, and thetransversely extending horizontal portion of the spring 36 will engagewithin the hooked end to retain the strike 26 and cover 12 in closedposition. When the .spring 36 engages the strike to retain the same, thesaid horizontal portion of the spring is engaged in the notches 50, 50provided at the bottom of the frame side walls in a manner'which will bedescribed hereinafter.

The operating lever 34 which is pivotally supported at the pin -46 bythe side walls of the frame 32 is used to engage and disengage thespring 36 with the strike 26. The said lever 34 can conveniently beformed as a sheet metal stamping having a front wall or plate 6.0 andrear- W-ardlyextending side walls or plates 62, .62. The front wall-60is wider than the back wall 38 of the frame32 so that'the side walls orplates :62, 6.2.of-the lever will be spaced outwardlyfrom theside walls42, 42 of the frame when .the lever is pivotally connected therewith inthe manner shown. A forwardly extending flange 64 is provided on thelower end of the front wall of the lever 34 for engagement by the thumbor fingers to operate or pivot the lever. As best shown in Figs. 1 and3, the rearwardly extending side walls or plates of the lever 34 arepazrti-circular and receive the pivot pin 46 eccentrically with respectto their parti-circular edges. When the lever is pivoted on the pin '46,the front wall 60 of the said lever swings around the parti-circularsections 44, 44 of the frame side walls. As is also shown in Figs. 1 and3, a suitable aperture .66 is provided in each side wall 62 of the leverfor pivotall-y receiving an end of the spring 36. Theapertures 66, 66are spaced from the pivot pin 46 or from the pivot axis of the lever sothat the ends of the spring will :be .swungaround the pivot axis in anovercenter action when the lever is pivoted.

As will be hereinafter described, the lever as shown in .Fig. 1 .ispositioned to engage the spring 36 with the hooked-end of the strike 26.In that position of the said lever, the spring-receiving apertures 66are disposed forwardlyof the pivot axis of the lever and forwardly of a.plane including that axis and the notches 50, 50 in the side walls ofthe frame. When the lever 34 is positioned as shown in Fig. 3, thespring-receiving apertures 66, 66 are positioned rearwardly of the pivotaxis 46 and the said plane, having passed over-center of the pivot axis.In this last described position'of thelever '34, the spring 36 isreleased from engagement with the hooked end of thestrike.

When viewed from the front as in Fig. 4, the one-piece wire .spring 36.is generally U-shaped and has outwardly extending ends 68,68.:projecting through the lever apertures 66, 66. Accordingly, theupwardly extending resilientlegs of the generally U-shaped spring aredisposed between the side walls of-the frame 32 and theside walls .ofthe lever 34. As best shown :in Fig. 3, the upper end .portions .of saidspring legs are bowed or arched rear- -wardly asfindicated at 70 toextend .rearwardly of the pivot pin 46. The intermediate portions of thespring legsare bowed forwardly as indicated at .72., 72, and the lowerportions of the legs are looped or coiled outwardly as indicated at 74,74 to increase the spring force and resiliency of the legs. Thehorizontal crosspiece portion 76 connecting the legs at their lower endsextends transversely of the frame between its side walls and is arrangedto engage within the notches 50, 50 of the said side walls and to engagewithin the hooked end 58 of the strike 26.

Reference is again made to Figs. 1 and 3 and to the positions of thelever 34 and the spring 36. In the position of the lever shown in Fig.3, there is no tension applied to the spring 36 and it is projecteddownwardly so that it can be swung with respect to the lever and frame,the transversely extending horizontal portion 76 of the said springclearing the lower ends of the frame side walls. When the spring ispositioned as shown in Fig. 1 with its horizontal portion 76 engagedwithin the frame notches 50, 50, the horizontal portion 76 cannot bemoved forwardly or rearwardly and tension is applied to the spring. Thatis, the spring legs are stretched as their ends are pivoted by the leverover center of the pivot pin 46 from a position rearwardly thereof tothe position forwardly thereof shown in Figure 1. In such pivotingmovement, the lever 34 and spring 36 cooperate as a toggle, the springbeing under tension by reason of its engagement within the notches 50,50. When the ends 68, 68 of the spring .are disposed forwardly of thepivot axis and the plane including that axis and the notches 50, 50, thespring tension biases the operating lever 34 clockwise whereby the frontwall 60 of the lever 34 i thrust against the forwardly bowed sections72, 72 Ofthl: spring legs with :a snap action. Thus, the spring retainsthe lever .in the position vvShown in .Fig- 1 whi h position may bereferred to as its locked position.

The operation of the catch shown in Figs. 1 to 5 is characteristicallysimple and is apparent from the drawings. Thatis, to retain the cover 12in closed position, it is only necessary to thrust the strike 26 intoengagement with the catch 30, .to swing the spring .36 below the framenotches and to then swing the lever clockwise to the closed positionshown in Fig. 1. vMore specifically, the strike 26 is-properly engagedby seating the hooked portion 58 thereofon the arcuate edges 54, 54.of1the frame cars 52, 52. Then, the spring 36 is pivoted clockwise withrespect to the lever and frame from the broken line position shown inFig. 3 to the full line position thereof. Then, the ,lever 34 is swungclockwise from the position'shown in Fig. 3 to the position-shown inFig. 1. In so doing, the transversely extending horizontal portion 76 ofthe spring is drawn upwardly into the notches '50, 50 and within thehooked end of the strike to force the strike against its seat.. When thehooked .end of the strike 26 has been seated in the frame and secured by:the.-sprling,:the cover 12.can be swung on the catches a hinge, thisaction being shown by the broken line position of the cover in Fig. 1.That is, the hooked end 58 of the strike can rotate on the arcuate edges54, 54 of the frame ears 52,152 while'still being engaged and retainedby the transversely extending, horizontal crosspiece section ,76 of theretaining spring 36 which then serves as "a pintle for the swingingmovement .of the strike and cover. Thus it will beseen that theU-shaped, one-piece wire spring 36 serves two primary functions, namely,it provides the toggle force for the catch and provides the pivot bar orpintle for the hinge action.

When'it is desiredto release one strike 26 so that the cover can swingonthe'other strike and catch, it is only necessary to pivot the lever 34from the positionshown in Fig. 1 to the positionshown in Fig. 3 and thento swing the spring 36 away from the frame notches "50, 50. Thatis,.in..swinging the lever from the position shown in Fig. 1 to theposition shown in Fig. 3, the spring 36 is extended downwardly out ofengagement with the notches 50, "50 and the hooked end 'of'the l Istrike so that the spring can be swung away from the notch to permitswinging movement of the cover 12 and the adjacent strike 26.

Obviously, both catches 30, 30 and their associated strikes 26, 26 canbe engaged as shown in Fig. 1 to retain the cover 12 in closed positionor both can be disengaged for complete removal of the cover. However,there is a distinct advantage in being able to disengage one catch andits associated strike to swing the cover on the other catch. Thispermits maintenance personnel to replace lamps within the lamp housingwithout complete removal of the cover and without requiring that thecover be held by other means while the lamp is being changed.

The alternative form shown in Figs. 6 to 9 differs only in details ofconstruction of the strike and the catch frame, the lever and springbeing identical with their counterparts shown in Figs. 1 to 5 andsimilarly identified. The modified frame and strike which are indicatedgenerally by the references 80 and 82 are particularly adapted for alamp enclosure whichis slightly different from that shown in Fig. 1. Themodified lamp enclosure comprises a housing 84 which has a lower sectionextending radially outwardly at 86 and then downwardly at 88. The lampdome 90 like the first described dome supports a sealing ring 92 forengagement with the housing and a support ring 94 for a plurality ofstrikes of the type indicated at 82. The said strike is secured to thering 94 as by rivets 96, 96 and extends radially outwardly therefrom andthen upwardly on the outside of the lower end portion 88 of the housing84. The upper end of the extending portion of the strike 82 has a hook98 for engagement with the spring 36 similarly to the manner in whichthe first described strike engaged the retaining spring.

The frame 80 like that in the first described embodiment has a back wall100 and forwardly extending side walls 102, 102 the back wall 'beingsecured to the lamp case housing 84 by conventional fastening means. Theframe 80 differs from the first described embodiment in that theforwardly projecting side Walls 102, 102 have substantially horizontallower edges 104, 104 and appendages 106, 106 which extend downwardly atthe front ends of the edges 104, 104. The frame 80 is additionallydifferent from the first described embodiment in that a t sheet metalsection 108 is formed integrally with the back wall to extend forwardlytherefrom in a substantially horizontal plane in engagement with thelower edges 104, 104 of the side Walls 102, 102. Depending ears can beprovided on the side walls 102, 102 to fit within notches in the wallsection 108 to secure the same in the at'oredescribed position which isbest shown in Fig. 9. Forwardly of the section 108, the sheet metalstamping is provided with two downwardly extending shoulders 110, 110which are disposed outwardly of the side walls 102, 102 and whichcooperate with the appendages 106, 106 on said side walls to definenotches 112, 112 therein for receiving the lower transversely extendingportion 76 of the spring 36. A section 114 of the frame extendsforwardly between the shoulders 110, 110 and is disposed between theside walls 102, 102 at the top of the notches 112, 112 to provide adownwardly facing seat for the hooked end 98 of the strike 82.

As in the first described embodiment, the hooked end of the strike isguided into position adjacent the notches defined in the lower ends ofthe side walls and between the said shoulders 110, 110 and theappendages 106, 106 on the side walls. When the hooked end of the strikeengages or is seated upon the section 114 of the forwardly projectingportion of the back wall of the frame, the spring 36 can be swung belowthe hooked end of the strike in registry with the notches 112, 112, andthen the lever 34 can be pivoted to the position shown in Fig. 6 tofirmly engage the spring in the notches and in the hooked end of thestrike. Obviously, disengagement is effected by swinging the lever awayfrom the frame to extend the spring 36 downwardly so that it can beswung away from the notches.

The invention claimed is:

l. Hinge and catch structure for an enclosure which comprises a housingand a cover therefor, the said structure comprising a pair of latchframes attached to opposite sides of the housing and each of whichdefines a concave seat, a pair of strikes attached to opposite sides ofthe cover and each comprising a hook with the convex side thereofentered in the seat of an associated latch frame, and two pairs oftoggle latch links, a pair of links being associated with each latchframe and hook and one link of each pair comprising a lever which ispivotally attached to its associated latch frame and the other link ofeach pair comprising a generally U-shaped wire spring pivoted at itsends to said one link so that its crosspiece portion will enter theconcave side of the associated hook inoperation of the lever to pressthe said hook into the associated seat, the said crosspiece portion ofeach spring link serving as a pintle to accommodate swinging movement ofits associated hook and the cover when the other spring link isdisengaged from its associated hook.

2. Hinge and catch structure for an enclosure which comprises a housingand a cover therefor, the said structure comprising a pair of latchframes attached to opposite sides of the housing and each of which has awall secured to the housing and a pair of side walls projectingtherefrom, an ear having a concave edge struck from each side wall ofeach latch frame so that the pair of ears on each latch frame define aconcave seat, a pair of strikes attached to opposite sides of the coverand each comprising a hook with the convex side thereof entered in theseat of an associated latch frame, and two pairs of toggle latch links,a pair of links being associated with each latch frame and hook and onelink of each pair comprising a lever which is pivotally attached to itsassociated latch frame and the other link of each pair comprising agenerally U-shaped wire spring pivoted at its ends to said one link sothat its crosspiece portion will enter the concave side of theassociated hook in operation of the lever to press the said hook intothe associated seat, the said crosspiece portion of each spring linkserving as a pintle to accommodate swinging movement of its associatedhook and the cover when the other spring link is disengaged from itsassociated hook.

3. Hinge and catch structure for an enclosure which comprises a housingand a cover therefor, the said structure comprising a pair of latchframes attached to opposite sides of the housing and each of which has awall secured to the housing and a pair of side walls projectingoutwardly therefrom, each of said side walls being provided with anotch, an ear having a concave edge struck from each side wall of eachlatch frame so that the pair of ears on each latch frame define aconcave seat, a pair of strikes attached to opposite sides of the coverand each comprising a hook with the convex side thereof entered in theseat of an associated latch frame, and two pairs of toggle latch links,a pair of links being associated with each latch frame and hook and onelink of each pair comprising a lever which is pivotally attached to theside walls of its associated latch frame and the other link of each paircomprising a generally U-shaped wire spring pivoted at its ends to saidone link so that its crosspiece portion will enter the side wall notchesin the associated latch frame and also enter the concave side of theassociated hook in operation of the lever to press the said hook intothe associated seat, the said crosspiece portion of each spring linkserving as a pintle to accommodate swinging movement of its associatedhook and the cover when the other spring link is disengaged from itsassociated hook.

4. A releasable hinge catch for an enclosure which comprises a housingand a cover therefor, the said structune comprising a latch frameattached to the housing adjajcent'the cover anddefining a concave seat,a strike attached to the cover adjacent'the -latch 'frame and comprisinga hook with the'c onvex side thereof entered in the latch frame seat,and a pair of toggle latch links associated with the latch frame andstrike, one of the said links comprising a lever pivotally attached tothe latch frame and the other link comprising a generally U-shaped wirespring pivoted at its ends tovthe said lever so that its crosspieceportion will enter the concave side .Of the hook in operation of thelever to press the said hook into the seat whereby to pivotally retainthe cover on the housing, the said crosspiece portion serving as apintle to accommodate swinging movement of the hook and cover. 7

5. A releasablehinge catch for an enclosure comprising a housing and acover therefor, the said structure comprising a latch frame having awall attached to the housing adjacent the cover and having a pair ofside walls projecting outwardly from the housing, each side Wall beingprovided with a notch on the end thereof adjacent the cover and eachside wall having an ear struck therefrom toward the other side walladjacent the notch and each ear having a concave edge adjacent the notchwhereby the ears cooperate to define a concave seat, a 25 strikeattached to the cover adjacent the latch frame tered vinthe seat, and apair of toggle latchdinks 'ass'o c'iated with'thelatch frame andstrike,'one of the said links. comprising a lever pivotally attached tothe side walls of.the'.iatchfra1 ne and the other link comprising agenerally U-shapedwire. spring pivoted at its endst o the lever andoperable there'hy so that its crosspiece portion will enter the sidewall notches and the concave side of the hook'topress the hook into theseat whereby to pivotally retain the cover on the housing, the saidcrosspieceportion serving as a pintle for swinging movement of the hookand cover.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 9, 3Fos e Aug-2, 892 1,229,962 Isidor June 12,1917 1,366,638 .Demers Jan.25, 1921 1,414,407 Harvey May ,2, 1922 2,349,486 Crosman May 23, 1 9442,374,687 Kornenak May 1, 1945 2,472,285 Claud-Mantle June 7, 1949FOREIGN PATENTS 323,280 Great Britain Jan. 2, 1930

